Wednesday, November 05, 2008

...when we the people make it happen.

A bitch is still struggling to put into words what I am feeling right now.

I must confess that I didn’t believe an Obama win was possible until they called it on the telly (Brother Rob Thurman was quick to call a bitch and remind me that he was right…and I’m thrilled enough to take that shit graciously).

I’m going to relish this indescribable feeling today…allow my soul to fill with the emotion of knowing that my Father, may he rest in peace, would be so thrilled that he lived to witness this…and let my sore as hell feet heal a bit (wince).

But tomorrow we begin.

President Elect Obama inherits a towering mass of drama and the daunting task of dealing with it.

And our work…the work of social justice…begins today.

Elections give us tools that we call politicians. It is our job to use the hell out of them…to hold them accountable and to work with them to bring about change.

So get your party on, y’all.

As soon as Missouri finishes the count (Lawd, have mercy…get it done, people!!) and bitch will dust my Afro off and get to it.

Because this moment…these twilightesque weeks between Election Day and inaugurations…is when major shit goes down.

We have not reached the mountaintop, however exciting this historic moment may be.

With many states passing inequality into law…with so many in economic peril…with our nation still at war…and with reproductive justice still under attack…we have a lot of work to do.

40 comments:

John McCain's very gracious concession speech made it clear that this (believe it or not) was the McCain even I admired.I think now he gets the enormity of what divisiveness can do and if President Obama is real smart, he would do well to deploy Sen. McCain as an ally.

i hear you, abb...the feelings are indescribable...and not just because i was to afraid to even allow myself to hope...and not because i know my grandmother would have been one of those who wept and wept and wept...but because, like michelle, for the first time in my adult life, i'm truly proud to be american. now, we've got to roll up our sleeves and let the hard work begin...damn! social activism that DOESN'T have to be "subversive" or "marginal"...

I knew a year ago he was going to win it. I have never been so excited and happy about the chances that we have to get this country back on track. Now each of us has to do our part as well...what a joy to follow this new leader of ours!

Obama got nearly a 2 to 1 victory here in Travis County, Texas, and also carried Dallas, Houston and El Paso, as well as the Rio Grande Valley. To bad the rest of the state can't get with the friggin' program.

This is spectacular! I thought and hoped the republicans were in trouble when I participated in an Obama honk and wave in a red-leaning part of upstate New York. All sorts of people - black, white, old, young, working class, and yuppies - were very excited about change. It was such a feeling of community. Now we just have to finish the job.

As a white Southern woman who grew up with immense privilege, I cannot even begin to say how beautiful and amazing this is. I've just been overwhelmed. And also, to hear my dyed-in-the-wool white Southern father who grew up going to segregated elementary schools tell me that he had "proudly" cast his vote for Obama--the first time he's voted Democrat--just makes me realize that this is CHANGE! It's real, and it's here and I know we all have a lot of work to do, but things are going to be different.

The Obama campaign organization was amazingly good, but the non-partisan volunteer educators, people who informally educate friends, people who walk the wards trying to get people registered to vote, local lawyers working to make sure that fewer low-income and black areas get stiffed with inadequate organization and machinery, and so on - these people work year in, year out to build the infrastructure of democracy.

A hand also to the St. Louis City poll workers - yesterday it took me 7 minutes to vote, including the wait. Two extra people were at hand to help with machines, direct traffic, and so on for the site, which hosts 3 precincts.

What exactly is this change? A bunch of sheeple voting for a candidate with no experience who plans on raising taxes so people who don't work can make a living out of not doing anything but putting out their hands? Yeah, that's change. Yes you can, you did, and now I have to pay for it.

I am proud of the U.S.A. - it's growing up. As a 12 year old, I (white and in a white-only suburb and school) remember the day MLK,Jr was shot, I remember the adults around me being concerned about the schoolkids' safety (this private school was in an inner ring suburb that had had white flight and was 95% black). I remember the adults and kids saying "why would they shoot a minister?", as if the cloth made MLK off-limits. Otherwise, the Civil Rights movement seemed rather distant to me at that age (it took me some time to wake up and learn). I think that a lot of whites my age grew up in similarly uniform neighborhoods and just assumed "that's how things are", that blacks were not Ivy college graduates and executives etc, and most worked in service industries (food, maintenance,etc), auto repair, building trades, factory work, post office. A black president wasn't part of the typical white person's imagined possibilities in 1968, at least in southwest Ohio.

I am amazed and disconcerted by how far the country has come, and how far it has to go, before race becomes a minor economic, social,or psychological/attitudinal issue.

This entire experience is still merinating with so many millions of people....I wrote a post "After The Tears...America Faces Reality" because I believe that we have to continue to own up to all that is wrong in our country in order to produce lasting change.

I didn't want to take it for granted...but I was pretty sure he could pull it off. The man was excellent in his planning and his deployment; he was calm and cool and unflappable. And he's got a wife who digs him. How could he not win?

Nonetheless, around 9PM NY time I got a little nervous... but then Ohio flipped.

I cried, I danced around like ROCKY and that is no easy feat with three blown discs.

I had worried about the Bradley effect relentlessly, seeing as how I am a Californian...speaking of which:

I am saddened and humiliated that my fellow Californian's fell for all the bullshit and bravado, the lies and half truths spread by the bible thumping Theocrats. I pray we will triumph in the courts...it is all that is left at this point regarding gay and lesbian equality.

I watched the news unfold over here in Tokyo and still have a difficult time dealing with my emotions -- pride, joy, and an overwhelming desire to just go to a quiet spot and cry for the next hour. Good stuff.

As a gay Californian, I am just now -- Thursday night -- barely pulling out of my funk. I'm annoyed that I was never able to get my jubilation on because of the damn voters in this state. I'm still trying to comprehend the gap: all those people who voted for Obama yet voted for Prop 8 at the same time. I'm blaming myself for being a little childish and pouty, but damn, this sucks.

Give me strength to roll up some sleeves and do some work, otherwise, the alternative is packing up and moving to Massachusetts.

musings of a 43year old white woman: i want to hug every african american i see (not sure why); for the first time, i felt like i was a part of a large group of AMERICANS and i don't ever remember feeling that way..EVER; i cried when i watched the Grant Park footage and saw a sea of Americans of every type together celebrating one thing. i saw every type of color and gender and age and i saw joyous faces all recognizing that we made something incredibly special happen.